Furnace



April 3, 1934.

W. D. BURTON ET AL FURNACE Original Filed Jan. 30. 1929 sets-Sheet l 2 1 MM Qfi m yw April 3, 1934.

W. D. BURTON ET AL FURNACE Original Filed Jan. 30. 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 MHHHIII Patented Apr. 3, 1934 FURNACE Warren Dean Burton, Los Angeles, Calif., and

Edward M. May, Springfield, Ohio, assignors to Combustioneer Inc., Cicero, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application January 30, 1929, Serial No. 336,043

Renewed August 16, 1933 4 Claims. (Cl. 110 -48) The present invention relates to improvements in furnaces, particularly furnaces of the underfeed type, and has special reference to improvements in automatic means for supplying fuel and air thereto.

Various objects of the present invention reside in the provision of a novel furnace in which combustion will be efficient and complete, in which the ash residue is disposed of without raising a large amount of dust, in which means is provided for heating water, and which is simple, compact and relatively inexpensive in construction.

A more specific object resides in the provision of an underfeed furnace in which coal is supplied automatically to a fuel bed, and in which partially burned fuel from the bed is displaced by fresh fuel and caused to move alonga trough having secondary air inlets where the combustion is completed.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of a furnace embodying the features of our invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 2--2 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view of the furnace taken along line 4- 1 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary transverse vertical sectional View taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 66 of Fig. 1.

Fig. '7 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken along line 7-7 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view similar to Fig. 1 of a modified form of the furnace.

'Fig. 9 is the transverse sectional view taken along line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary plan view taken along line 10-l0 of Fig. 8.

While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, we have shown in the drawings and will herein describe in detail the preferred embodiment, but it is to be understood that we do not thereby intend to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed, but intend to cover all modifications and alternative constructions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the

" furnace constituting the exemplary embodiment of the invention comprises a combustion chamber 10. This chamber may have any suitable shape, and in the present instance is rectangular, long and narrow in form, and comprises front and rear end walls 11 and 12, side walls 13 and 14., and top and bottom walls 15 and 16. The furnace walls 11 to 16 may be made of any suitable material. In the present instance, the front wall 11 is a casting, and the other walls are made of sheet steel. Opening through the top wall 15 is a suitable stack 17 for the products of combustion.

Mounted in the front end of the chamber 10 is a suitable retort 18 for supporting a fire bed and supplying fuel thereto. The retort 18 opens upwardly, preferably is generally rectangular in form, and has a fuel inlet duct 19 extending to the front wall 11. The duct 19 and a depending leg 20 integral with the retort serve to support the retort in position. The bottom wall of the retort 18 is gradually curved upwardly and rearwardly so as to impart to the incoming fuel an upward and rearward movement.

Mounted along the side walls of the retort l8 and in effect constituting upward continuations thereof are a plurality of tuyere blocks 21 defining a plurality of air inlet openings 22. The tuyere blocks 21 extend from the retort 18 to the side walls 13 and 14, side dead plates being dispensed with. To hold the tuyere blocks 21 in assembled relation, they are formed with downwardly and outwardly extending lugs 23, the lugs at each side being aligned and connected by a tie rod 24 secured to the adjacent side wall by angle brackets 25.

The front wall 11 is formed with a water chamber 26 which has a triangular projection 27 extending into the space between the tuyere blocks 21. The two front tuyere blocks are triangular in shape toaccommodate the projection 27 against which they rest. A door 28 opening through the chamber 26 and normally closed is provided in the front wall 11 to permit manual stoking when the occasion arises.

Adjoining the rear edge of the retort 18 and 100 the rearmost tuyre blocks 21 are a series of plates 29, three in the present instance, and a plate 30 at the end of the series. These plates are inclined downwardly and rearwardly, and define a trough having substantially the same 105 contour as the space between the tuyere blocks 21, and in effect constituting a continuation thereof. In the plate 30, this trough widens gradually toward the bottom. To form the trough, each of the plates 29 and 30 has a central de- 110 pressed bottom wall 31 which is inclined downwardly and rearwardly and which overlaps the next adjacent wall. The overlapping portions of the walls 31 are held in slightly spaced relation by a plurality of spacing lugs 32 which define secondary air or tuyere openings 33.

The plate 30 rests on a transverse partition wall 34 in the chamber 10. This wall is provided with an inspection door 35 which normally is closed.

Disposed in the rear end of the chamber 10 beyond the wall 34 and underlying the discharge end of the plate 30 is an ash receptacle 36. A door 37 in the rear wall 12 permits removal of the receptacle 36 and also permits inspection.

It will be evident that the water chamber 26, the retort 18, the tuyere blocks 21, the plates 29 and 30, and the wall 34 constitute a partition dividing the chamber 10 into a combustion chamber proper and an air chamber 38. The latter communicates with the air openings 22 and 33.

Suitable means is provided for supplying fuel to the retort 18 and air to the chamber 38. To this end, the duct 19 is connected to one end of a conveyor duct 39 which extends through an opening 40 in the front wall 11. The other end of the duct 39 is connected to the base of a hopper 41 adapted to contain the fuel. Extending from the hopper 41 through the duct 39 into the bottom of the retort 18 is a suitable screw conveyor 42. This conveyor may be driven by any suitable means, and in the present instance is operatively and adjustably connected through a gear box 43 to a drive motor 44. The box 43 and the motor 44 preferably are mounted on the base of the hopper 41.

Also operatively connected to the motor 44 is a blower or fan 45 the outlet of which is connected through an air duct 46 to the air cham ber 38.

In operation, the fuel forms a bed over the retort 18. Air from the tuyre openings 22 enters the bed, and with volatile matter and gases passes upwardly through the incandescent top of the bed. As fresh fuel is fed to the retort 18, partially burned fuel from the top of the bed is forced to move rearwardly along the longitudinal space defined by the tuyere blocks 21 and the plates 29 and 30. Combustion of the partially burned fuel is completed over the plates 29, and, the clinkers or ash residue pass over the plate 30 to the receptacle 36.

The modification shown in Figs. 8 and 9 differs from the form shown in Figs. 1 to 7 only in the form of the trough or platform extending downwardly and rearwardly from the upper edge of the retort 18. Hence like parts of the two forms are identified by the same reference characters. Instead of the plates 29, a single tuyere plate 47 is provided. Retaining walls 48 and 49 are secured to the opposite side walls 13 and 14, and are formed with inwardly extending flanges 50 on which the tuyere plate 47 rests. The walls 48 and 49 extend under and support a dead plate 51 beyond the tuyere plate 47, the dead plate being fiat and having no air inlet openings. It will be evident that the depending side walls 48 and 49 and the plates 47 and 51 define a trough constituting in effect a continuation of the space defined by the tuyre blocks 21.

The tuyere plate 47 is provided with a hollow central longitudinal raised rib 52 open on its underside to the air chamber 38, and with a hollow transverse raised rib 53 on its front edge also opening on its underside to the air chamber. The forward edge of the rib 53 rests on the rear edge of the retort 18. The rear wall of the transverse rib 53 and the side walls of the longitudinal rib 52 are formed with a plurality of secondary air inlet openings 54 adapted to direct streams of air over the upper surface of the tuyere plate 47.

It will be evident that we have provided a new and improved furnace in which the fuel is consumed efilciently and completely regardless of the rate at which the fuel is supplied, in which the ash residue is' disposed of without causing disagreeable dust, and which is simple, compact and relatively inexpensive in construction.

We claim as our invention:

1. A furnace comprising, in combination, an elongated narrow chamber, an underfeed retort opening upwardly into the front end of said chamber, the front wall of said chamber above said retort being formed with a water space, a continuous series of abutting tuyere blocks mounted along each side of said retort and extending to the adjacent side of said chamber, said series of blocks being spaced apart throughout their length, a plurality of overlapping plates arranged in a series extending rearwardly from the rear edge of said retort and inclined downwardly and rearwardly therefrom, the overlapping portions of said plates defining secondary air inlets, said plates being channel shaped in form to define a trough, a partition wall extending across the rear end of said chamber, a plate resting on said partition wall and extending rearwardly from said firstmentioned plates, an ash receptacle underlying the rear end of said last mentioned plate, 'the portion of said front wall forming said water space, said retort, said tuyre blocks, said first mentioned plates, said last mentioned plate and said partition wall defining an air chamber within said first mentioned chamber, and means including a screw conveyor for continuously feeding fuel to said retort and for supplying air to said air chamber.

2. A furnace comprising, in combination, an elongated narrow chamber, an underfeed retort opening upwardly into the front end of said chamber, a continuous series of tuyere blocks mounted along each side of said retort, said series of blocks being spaced apart laterally of said retort, a plurality of overlapping plates arranged in a series extending rearwardly from the rear edge of said retort and inclined downwardly and rearwardly therefrom, the overlapping portions of said plates defining secondary air inlets, said plates defining a trough, and means for feeding fuel to said retort and for supplying air to said tuyere blocks and said air inlets.

3. A furnace comprising, in combination, an elongated chamber, an underfeed retort opening upwardly into said chamber, a continuous series of tuyere blocks mounted along each side of said retort, said series of blocks being spaced apart laterally of said retort, a trough inclined downwardly from the rear edge of said retort, said trough having secondary air inlets, an air chamber under said tuyere blocks and said trough communicating with the air inlets therein, and means for feeding fuel to said retort and for supplying air to said air chamber.

4. A furnace comprising a narrow elongated chamber, an underfeed retort opening upwardly in the front end of said chamber, a continuous series of tuyere blocks disposed along each side edge of said retort, said series of blocks being spaced apart laterally of said retort, a tuyere plate extending downwardly and rearwardly from the rear edge of said retort, depending flange walls for supporting said tuyre plate, said tuyre plate being formed with a hollow raised T shaped rib, the stem of which extends downwardly and rearwardly from the head, said rib being formed with lateral secondary air openings for irecting air over the top surface of said plate, a dead plate 

